What Do We Know About Metal Recycling Rates?

Graedel, T. E.; Allwood, Julian M.; Birat, Jean‐Pierre; Buchert, Matthias; Hagelüken, Christian; Reck, Barbara K.; Sibley, Scott F.; Sonnemann, Guido

doi:10.1111/j.1530-9290.2011.00342.x

Cited by 550 publications

(441 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In fact, Cu is among the most recycled metals, but its global end-of-life recycling has modest performance [14,15]. In light of the prospective of future Cu demand [16], improving Cu recycling rates is necessary to enhance Cu supply and the recycling of urban mines (also known as above-ground reserves or in-use stock, IUS) is a significant mean to provide valuable forms of secondary Cu.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Mines of Copper: Size and Potential for Recycling in the EU

2017

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Abstract:Copper is among the most important metals by production volume and variety of applications, providing essential materials and goods for human wellbeing. Compared to other world regions, Europe has modest natural reserves of copper and is highly dependent on imports to meet the domestic demand. Securing access to raw materials is of strategic relevance for Europe and the recycling of urban mines (also named "in-use stock") is a significant mean to provide forms of secondary copper to the European industry. A dynamic material flow analysis model is applied to characterize the flows of copper in the European Union (EU-28) from 1960 to 2014 and to determine the accumulation of this metal in the in-use stock. A scrap balance approach is applied to reconcile the flow of secondary copper sent to domestic recycling estimated through the model and that reported by historic statistics. The results show that per capita in-use stock amounts at 160-200 kg/person, and that current end-of-life recycling rate is around 60%. The quantification of historic flows provides a measure of how the European copper cycle has changed over time and how it may evolve in the future: major hindrances to recycling are highlighted and perspectives for improving the current practices at end-of-life are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Mines of Copper: Size and Potential for Recycling in the EU

2017

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“…Ayres & Talens Peiró [18] discuss the consequences of critical metals occurring mainly as 'hitch-hikers' to common attractor metals such as iron or copper, in particular in disconnecting price and supply, and review current applications and recycling processes. At present, apart from precious metals such as gold and platinum, recycling rates for critical metals are very low: Graedel et al [20] estimate that they are under 1 per cent in most cases, largely because these metals are used for alloying (so are difficult to separate), or are dispersed in products that use them only in very small quantities (so are difficult to collect). The pursuit of material efficiency in the design of products containing these critical metals could support more efficient use over longer periods, and new approaches to design for separation at end of product life.…”

Section: Motivations For Materials Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Material efficiency: providing material services with less material production

Allwood

Ashby

Gutowski

et al. 2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

116

112

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Material efficiency, as discussed in this Meeting Issue, entails the pursuit of the technical strategies, business models, consumer preferences and policy instruments that would lead to a substantial reduction in the production of high-volume energy-intensive materials required to deliver human well-being. This paper, which introduces a Discussion Meeting Issue on the topic of material efficiency, aims to give an overview of current thinking on the topic, spanning environmental, engineering, economics, sociology and policy issues. The motivations for material efficiency include reducing energy demand, reducing the emissions and other environmental impacts of industry, and increasing national resource security. There are many technical strategies that might bring it about, and these could mainly be implemented today if preferred by customers or producers. However, current economic structures favour the substitution of material for labour, and consumer preferences for material consumption appear to continue even beyond the point at which increased consumption provides any increase in well-being. Therefore, policy will be required to stimulate material efficiency. A theoretically ideal policy measure, such as a carbon price, would internalize the externality of emissions associated with material production, and thus motivate change directly. However, implementation of such a measure has proved elusive, and instead the adjustment of existing government purchasing policies or existing regulations— for instance to do with building design, planning or vehicle standards—is likely to have a more immediate effect.

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“…8 Metals, in particular, are being extracted at increasing rates ( Figure 1 ), and end-of-life recycling rates for many of them are low to dismal. 10 Moreover, for products with long service lifetimes such as turbine generators or high-speed locomotives, a stable set of materials must be available for maintenance and repair over several decades. It is therefore reasonable to ask: "Will supplies of any materials run out?…”

Section: The Dynamism Of Metal Extraction and Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Will metal scarcity impede routine industrial use?

Graedel

Erdmann

2012

MRS Bull.

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The dynamism of metal extraction and useAs recently as 20 or 30 years ago, designers of most manufactured products drew from a palette of a dozen or so metals. That situation has changed remarkably, as modern technology employs virtually the entire periodic table. A few examples illustrate this point: turbine-blade alloys and coatings make use of more than a dozen metals; 1 thousands of components are assembled into a single notebook computer; and medical equipment, medical diagnostics, and other high-level technological products incorporate more than 70 metals.2 This transformation is the result of the continuing search for better materials performance. To improve operational characteristics, 60 or so metals are incorporated into each microchip, 3 and microchips are increasingly embedded into industrial plants, means of transportation, building equipment and appliances, consumer products, and other devices. 4 It is thus increasingly important to determine whether reliable supplies of all of these metals are available, because a product designer might wish to employ a material that is not available in suffi cient quantity or at a suitable price when it is needed. 5During the Industrial Revolution, vast metal deposits became accessible. Since then, wars or cartels have occasionally disrupted supplies for short periods, but the markets have always been restored over time. More recently, however, challenges to medium-or long-term supplies of a number of metals 6,7 have led to increasing unease. This state of mind was reinforced in 2011 by a committee of the American Physical Society and the Materials Research Society that identifi ed several elements, including 10 rare earth elements, as potentially critical for energy-related technologies. 8 Metals, in particular, are being extracted at increasing rates ( Figure 1 ), and end-of-life recycling rates for many of them are low to dismal.10 Moreover, for products with long service lifetimes such as turbine generators or high-speed locomotives, a stable set of materials must be available for maintenance and repair over several decades. It is therefore reasonable to ask: "Will supplies of any materials run out? If so, what and when?" In this article, we explore these questions by examining the present state of metal supply and demand, reviewing various studies of future needs, and then addressing potential limitations in response to those needs. Finally, we discuss some strategies and policies that corporations and governments might wish to consider in response to this information. Supply considerations Mining and processingMetals are not uniformly accessible in nature. Some metals form their own minerals, whereas some occur only in the lattices of other principal minerals (e.g., gallium in the aluminum ore bauxite). Average crustal abundance is not a good measure of overall availability, because geological processes create concentrations of individual elements or groups of elements Will metal scarcity impede routine industrial use? T.E. Graedel and Lorenz ErdmannMateria...

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What Do We Know About Metal Recycling Rates?

Cited by 550 publications

References 17 publications

Urban Mines of Copper: Size and Potential for Recycling in the EU

Urban Mines of Copper: Size and Potential for Recycling in the EU

Material efficiency: providing material services with less material production

Will metal scarcity impede routine industrial use?

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